Thursday September 27, 2012

Build a pile, ideally 4-foot x 4-foot in size, in no more than 6-inch layers at a time. Make it 'Super Duper' by adding comfrey, nettles or dried horsetail, because these plants are 'bio-accumulators' containing valuable nutrients that make high-quality compost. TIP: Leaving food waste out prevents problems with rodents.

Ingredient List:

Manure (cow, sheep, horse, llama, goat or chicken-can be fresh)

Leaves (TIP: store in circular wire cages in fall)

Herbaceous prunings

Weeds (avoid weeds in seed or pernicious weeds)

Spoiled hay

Grass clippings

Nettles (in season)

Comfrey (in season)

Horsetails (in season)

Seaweed (follows winter storms)

Wood ash (uncontaminated)

Sawdust and fine woodchips (not cedar)

The Do's and Don'ts of Composting

Do mix layers of carbon-rich materials with nitrogen-rich materials. For speedy breakdown the ideal ratio of compost is 30: 1 Carbon:Nitrogen.

Do provide aeration, by allowing air to flow freely through the pile. (Free palettes work perfectly!)

Do make sure the pile is moist for the aerobic bacteria to work. Keep a hose running on the pile as you turn it from one bin to another.

Do avoid compaction by adding no more than a 6" layer of material at a time.

Do not build compost piles too big - no more than four feet high and four feet wide.

Do avoid weeds that have gone to seed, unless you heat compost to reach the high temperatures needed to destroy weed seeds.

Don't use cat, dog, pig or human feces in the compost, because it can spread infectious disease or parasites.

Do avoid large quantities of seaweed with high salt levels. The salt preserves the compost pile instead of decomposing it!

Don't use meat and fish scraps that attract animals and flies; grease and oil do not break down. To avoid attracting rodents keep kitchen waste in rat proof composters, or bury in trenches around the garden, covering with 9" of soil.

Do add 'activators' to your pile to accelerate decomposition. One of the best you can add is fresh manure, steaming with microbes! Empty bins in fall, and apply 2" layers of compost as protective winter mulch. Feeding the soil and smothering weed seeds at the same time is what I call 'organic weed & feed'.

Thursday September 27, 2012

RCMP are asking the public for help after a breakthrough in the case of a murdered teenager in northern B.C. But how much hope is there for closure in other similar cases? We hear from private investigator Ray Michalko.

Thursday September 20, 2012

This jelly is sweet and tangy with a bite from the chili peppers. It's one of our favourites with egg and rice dishes, and goes perfectly with a plate of cheese and crackers.

8 sweet red peppers, roasted

1 onion, roughly chopped

4 red chili peppers, halved and seeded

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 cup (250 mL) water

1 cup (250 mL) white wine vinegar

1½ tsp (7 mL) sea salt

2¼ cups (535 mL) sugar

Pomona's natural pectin

Puree the roasted peppers, onion, garlic, chilies and water in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Press the puree through a sieve using a wooden spoon, extracting as much as you can- ideally 3 cups (700 mL). In a saucepan add the puree to the vinegar and salt. Mix in the sugar and add the pectin, stirring into the liquid until they have dissolved. Bring to the boil stirring for 4 minutes. Hot pack into sterilized pint mason jars and process in a water canner bath for 15 minutes. See below:

How to Process High-Acid Foods

Wash Mason jars with hot soapy water and rinse. Fill a canner or large pot with water and heat it to boiling. Using tongs, completely immerse the jars in the boiling water. Allow the water to a simmer at 180F (82C), leaving the jars immersed until ready for use. Place the lids and metal rings in a small saucepan of water heated to 180F (82C), but do not allow the water to boil. Leave the lids and rings in the hot water until ready for use. TIP: Do not use recycled lids if the rubber seal has already been set.

Ladle hot food (hotpack) into the hot jars to prevent cracking from a sudden temperature change. (TIP: Use a wide mouth funnel). Leave ¼ inch (5 mm) of headspace for jams and jellies. Leave ½ inch (1 cm) of headspace for fruit, pickles, tomatoes, chutney and relishes. Using a sterilized non-metallic utensil, remove any air bubbles in the jar, and readjust the headspace if necessary. If the jar rim is sticky, wipe with a clean wet cloth. Centre the snap lid on the jar, and twist the metal ring securely over it, but do not over tighten. Place the filled jars on the rack of a canner; when full, use oven mitts to lower the rack gently into the canner bath, three-quarters full of boiling water, so that water covers jars by at least 1 inch (2.5 cm).

Put the lid on the canner and bring water back to a rolling boil. Process for the time recommended by the recipe. Turn off the heat and remove the canner lid. When the boiling water becomes still (approximately 5 minutes), carefully pull the rack up out of the canner by its handles, without tipping the jars, and place it on a heat-proof surface.

Using tongs, space the jars on a heatproof surface, and leave to cool upright, without adjusting the metal rings. After cooling, check that all the lids are sealed. Sealed lids curve inwards and do not move when tested. Jars that have not sealed can be refrigerated and consumed within 2 days. Remove the metal rings if desired, and wipe the jars clean if sticky.

Label with food and date it, and store in a cool, dark place. Food processed this way will keep well for up to 12 months.

My favourite way to get healthy servings of orchard fruit in winter is to start the day with fruit compote--alone or combined with yogurt and granola, or on top of steaming oatmeal. It's as easy as selecting a mix of dried fruit in the evening and pouring boiling water over it to just cover. The secret is to leave the fruit to rehydrate at room temperature for a few hours or overnight without putting a lid on the bowl. The compote will store in the fridge for up to a week, and the longer it sits the better the syrup becomes. TIP: Add a cinnamon stick and/or a slice of lemon during soaking to make the syrup even tastier.

Tuesday September 11, 2012

More details are emerging about the alleged misuse of confidential medical information at the Ministry of Health. But there are still plenty of questions, we put them to health minister Margaret MacDiarmid.

Friday September 7, 2012

Making sacrifices. Three-time Olympian David Calder and his wife Rachel join us. He's just back from his final games as an athlete. We'll talk about London, and the challenge of life as an Olympian, and raising a family.

Tomato seeds should undergo a wet fermentation process for a few days, which eliminates seed-borne pathogens and allows dead seeds to float to the surface of the water. Choose tomatoes that display desirable traits such as high yields, early ripening, disease resistance or excellent flavour.

Cut the tomatoes in half. Squeeze the seeds and pulp into a container, and put a plastic label in for identification. Leave the seeds to ferment for four days, during which time a white 'scum' forms on top. This dissolves the gelatinous seed layer, preparing the seeds for future germination.

After four, but no more than five days, rinse the seeds in a large bowl of water. Good seeds sink to the bottom. Gently pour the floating 'scum' off, repeating the rinsing as many times as you need, until all that's left in the bottom of the bowl are clean seeds.

Give these a final rinse through a sieve; tapping off excess moisture before spreading the seeds over a plate to dry. Label the plate, so you don't muddle up varieties being collected.

Place the plates of seeds in a sunny window for a day or two to dry them. Crumble the seeds with your fingers to separate any that are stuck together. Leave them in a warm place for a few more days to thoroughly dry. Store the seeds in labeled, airtight tubs. Tomato seeds stored properly will germinate for at least five years

Friday September 7, 2012

It's all about the flavour. This is a recipe that you'll never see in another cookbook. Its Basque-chef Roger Dufau's version of the traditional wine-soaked braised beef that is on countless menus but which constantly disappoints.
... Read more »

Thursday September 6, 2012

Renewing the party or recycling familiar faces? Premier Christy Clark overhauls her cabinet after several ministers call it quits We talk with one of the faithful few, new Aboriginal Relations minister, Ida Chong.

Thursday September 6, 2012

Across Canada apple cider vinegar is being made in small, artisanal batches. In Cambridge, Nova Scotia, Boates Farm is producing what they are calling a "balsamic style apple cider vinegar." When I picked up a bottle at their great roadside stand, I immediately thought of a recipe that came from The Garrison House Inn, a small lovely country inn that I'd visited in Annapolis Royal well over two decades across. This is my version of the recipe that has been a standby in my own kitchen since 1987. I use it on all sorts of salads but it's great when you have some fresh sliced fruit from local strawberries to blackberries strewn on top of the greens.

Tuesday September 4, 2012

We are hoping to hear from health minister Margaret MacDiarmid about what she herself is calling "troubling" allegations of misuse of confidential medical information. Also Jennifer Chrumka will take a look at some of the amazing local artists taking part in Artlandia -- a popular component of the Rifflandia festival.

Tuesday September 4, 2012

Mitt Romney is still struggling to get voters excited about his campaign. We hear from Royal Roads professor and political watcher Gil Wilkes about what Romney's Republican Convention speech did for him.